"The Third Man first cropped up at Henrietta Red as a happy-hour drink, and many customers found that it went splendidly with the luminous fresh seafood for which the chef Julia Sullivan has drawn accolades. Halloran notes that it goes especially well in advance of a meal as an aperitif, and also pairs nicely with Henrietta Red’s seasonal salad, featuring young lettuce, pickled turnips, and pleasingly acidic Gold-Rush apples.

As for the cocktail’s name, the Third Man was inspired by the 1949 noir film of the same name written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. Like the film, the drink packs sufficient intrigue around a simple plot. But unlike the film, the drink’s plot resolves itself early on, usually with the first sip." - Garden & Gun